Man pleads guilty to holdups at downtown Birmingham bank, Center Point store where clerk was shot

Monterius King

Monterius King in 2017

A 31-year-old Birmingham man has pleaded guilty in federal court to a pair of 2017 robberies, one of which left a Center Point store clerk with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

Monterius King entered his guilty plea on Aug. 5, according to a Friday announcement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay Town and ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. The plea came before U.S. District Judge Liles Burke on the first day of King’s trial.

King pleaded guilty to robbing the ServisFirst Bank on Richard Arrington Boulevard on Jan. 3, 2017 and the Jet Pep on Center Point Parkway on April 24, 2018. It was during the Jet Pep holdup that King shot a clerk in the stomach.

The store shooting happened just after 5:30 a.m. that Monday. When Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they found the victim - an adult male - suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Authorities at the time said the victim had just opened the store for business. He was approached by a black male suspect - later identified as King - who shot him in an attempt to rob the store. The suspect fled on foot.

On Saturday, May 6,2017 detectives received information identifying King as the suspect. A description of King and the vehicle he was driving was broadcast to deputies. The U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Task Force was contacted to help catch King.

King was found driving along I-22 in western Jefferson County and taken into custody.

King also pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during the Jet Pep robbery. He has pending charges remaining in state court for attempted murder and robbery in connection with that case, and for robbery in the ServisFirst holdup.

His sentencing on the federal charges has been set for Dec. 16th. King faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the robberies, plus a consecutive term of at least 10 years for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

“Those who threaten the lives of innocent employees and customers are exactly the violent criminals we will remove from our communities and relocate to a bed in federal prison,” Town said. “The government was fully prepared to present evidence at trial that would prove the guilt of this defendant. He now faces federal time in a federal prison.”

“Protecting the public by the removal of the criminal element that commits acts of violence with a firearm was the result of the combined efforts by ATF and our partners,” Watson said.

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